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Quinoa Keen on This good-for-you whole “grain” is also just plain good. by John ash i live in california, so i know a little something about food fads. Here’s what happens: The culinary community gets jazzed up about some “new” food or technique, it begins to show up everywhere, and then, before you know it, it loses its luster. Tuna tartare, cupcakes, and bacon-in-everything come to mind as recent examples. Another case in point: quinoa. A few years ago, it was all the rage, the kale (or kimchi) of its day. But now that I’ve incorporated this protein-packed staple into my cooking, I’m not about to give it up just because some food blogger has deemed it passé. Why would I? Mildly flavored with a subtle nutty quality, quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) pairs well with all kinds of flavors and delivers a unique, enjoyable nubby texture. It’s also versatile, as the range of dishes that follow—a fragrant tomato soup, a refreshing salad, an earthy risotto, and a satisfying vegetarian burger—deliciously illustrate. Quinoa is a quick cooker While not actually a grain (see “A Delicious, Nutritious Imposter,” page 70), quinoa is treated like one when it comes to cooking. Unlike most whole grains, however, quinoa cooks quickly, in about 15 minutes. Once cooked, the quinoa becomes translucent, and the white germ partially detaches, appearing like a white-spiraled tail. Rinse well before cooking. Quinoa develops a protective, soapy- tasting coating of saponins as it grows. The chemical compound dissolves easily and is usually washed off in processing, but why take the chance? Rinse your quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer to keep the tiny seeds from going down the drain. When it comes to flavoring quinoa, the sky’s the limit. Like rice, quinoa has a bland nature that makes it perfect for pairing with all sorts of flavorful ingredients. For my tomato soup (page 71), I cook it with ginger, cumin, and star anise, making it wonderfully aromatic. I take the flavoring in another direction in the salad at right, adding savory miso, soy sauce, and sesame oil. I hope these recipes, as well as the others here, will encourage you to cook with quinoa, even when freekeh—sure to be the next hot super grain—becomes all the rage. 68 fine cooking • june/july 2014 Red, white, and black There are more than 120 varieties of quinoa, with the most commonly cultivated being red, white, and black. White is usually most readily available at the supermarket. Red and black, if you can find them, have a bit more flavor and hold their shape well, so are especially good in salads.